Book Review

The significance and complexity of equality during the revolutionary era is commonly recognized, yet the underpinnings of this concept are often overlooked. John Carson's The Measure of Merit, therefore, makes a valuable contribution to understanding the role of merit and its impact on democracy, the organization of schooling, social stratification, and so forth. Even today, as Carson notes in his introduction, affirmative action cases illustrate die precarious relation that our beliefs about equality hold with concepts of merit. With this in mind, he examines France and the United States from 1750 to 1940, exploring how intelligence was linked to earlier notions of merit and social equality, achieved scientific status, subverted the longstanding questions central to the philosophy of mind, and became an integral part of contemporary society. This book is not simply a history of intelligence or merit but rather an ambitious examination that helps to unravel the matrix ofbeliefs intertwined in the science, theory, and social impUcations of merit as it infused modern democracies, as well as beliefs about race, class, and gender. Using an impressive range of sources, including philosophic and scientific texts, newspaper articles, and asylum reports, this intellectual history examines the influence of key figures as well as disciplines such as psychology, anthropology, and biology. In his own words, Carson argues that, "The Measure of Merit tells the story of how the American and French republics turned to the sciences of human nature to help make sense of the meaning of human inequality" (p. 1). In addition, a more complex theme runs throughout the book, captured in Carson's suggestion that, "Examining and understanding the public discourses that have framed concepts such as talents, merit, and intelligence, ... helps to unearth a culture's presuppositions, the boundaries within which individuals operate while persuading one another, or themselves, to act on or think about the word in particular ways" (pp. xni-xiv).

?The chapters devoted to the anatomy, physiology and Pathology of the eye show that it was not till the time of Leonardo da Vinci and Porta that the eye came to be regarded a camera obscura. Mariotte discovered the " blind spot " ^ 1668. Porterfield showed, in 1759, that the blind spot was the entry of the optic nerve and that the retina was the essential organ of sight. The chapter on cataract contains a ^ery good coloured illustration of the Indian operation of couching "?the usual operation till Dairel published his account of the operation for extraction of the lens in 1748.
Glaucoma has a chapter devoted to it. No definite conception its nature existed till about 1840. In the chapter on therapeutics it is recorded that it was Augustin Prichard, of Bristol, who in 1851 resorted to excision of the eye to prevent sympathetic ophthalmia. There are chapters on spectacles, ^e ophthalmoscope and ophthalmology in the British Isles, ?^he last gives a good deal of information about the notorious 9.Uack oculists and charlatans of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. There is a bibliography of the history of ?Phthalmology, and there are indexes of names and subjects. 265 Surgical Anatomy and Physiology. By N. C. Lake, M.D., M.S., D.Sc., and C. J. Marshall, M.D., M.S. Pp. ix., 888.
Illustrated. London : H. K. Lewis & Co. Ltd. 1934. Price 30s.?A text-book of nearly 900 pages is a formidable addition to the medical student's library, and this volume will probably find its place rather as a work of reference than as the daily companion of the embryo surgeon. In this capacity it is truly excellent, although the emphasis is distinctly on anatomy rather than surgery or physiology. The diagrams are clear and well chosen, and include, beside many old friends, a number of skiagrams that are particularly valuable from the clinical side.
Illustrated. London: Cassell & Co. Ltd. 1934. Price 14s.?The appearance of a ninth edition of a work of this kind just fifty-one years after the first is, in itself, sufficient testimony that the book in question has filled an important place in the student's library for nearly two whole generations.
This fact is not to be wondered at, for to many thousands of readers " Treves " has long been recognized as an old friend.
The study of Applied Anatomy is not too popular with students, and a readable book on what is really a most important subject is badly needed. This book is essentially readable, and that is one reason why it has retained its popularity for so long a period of time. The author of this edition has departed from what he calls Treves's " anecdotal " style, and although in some ways that is to be regretted, the decision on the whole is probably a wise one. It may be said that the whole work has been thoroughly and competently revised, and that is nearly all that need be said. In its new guise it will continue faithfully to serve the present generation as it has an earlier one. A careful search reveals nothing omitted that might usefully have been included, and only one mistake?a misprint in the fourth The advances made in the four years since the fifth edition was published have made extensive revision necessary. This has been very well carried out. The descriptions given of the disorders resulting from disturbances of the parathyroid functions deserve the highest praise. So too does the chapter ?n the anaemias. Additions to our knowledge of the blood and its disorders are being made so rapidly that the difficulties of differentiating and classifying the anaemias are immense, but the author's plan offers a very solid foundation from which to follow future progress. There is no need to enumerate all the new matter. A glance at the preface will satisfy most of our readers of the necessity of getting the new edition. Industrial Maladies. By Sir Thomas Legge, M.D. Pp. Xvi., 234. Illustrated. London : Oxford University Press. 1934. Price 12s. 6d.?Workmen's compensation is very definitely on the increase, and more and more cases are seen by both general practitioners and specialists, which demand n?t only a knowledge of industrial maladies, but of the Processes and agents by which they are brought about. This book deserves, therefore, to be widely read, and will be Particularly appreciated by certifying surgeons. The preface contains a life history and an account of the great work of Sir Thomas Legge. The subject-matter is well presented in fifteen chapters, and deals with industrial poisoning by lead, phosphorus, mercury, arsenic, and other metallic compounds. ?Dermatitis, pulmonary diseases due to dust, and tar cancer are thoroughly considered. There are thirteen good photographic plates illustrating these. The author does not introduce the more surgical conditions, hence there is no account of bursitis, or injuries to the back, and like conditions. The book ftia-kes interesting reading, as it contains historical notes on several diseases?a good account of glass blowers' cataract is given. The graphs are disappointing and are difficult to read, a better method of presenting graph 9 might be found. ?Not everyone will agree with some of the views expressed, e-9page 51: "There is a fairly close relation between the degree of exposure to lead and the proportion found in the urine and the medical condition of the exposed persons." This bas been found on very many occasions not to be true. The index is good, and the book should prove a valuable one for reference. Price 5s.?It is perhaps hardly an exaggeration to state that to many medical students and practitioners the electrocardiogram and its interpretation is shrouded in mystery, and rather savours of " black magic." This is perhaps because the majority of books dealing with the subject take the reader fairly deeply into the physics of the electrical reactions of contracting muscle. In this handbook, however, Dr. Evans, after a short introduction and a description of a " plan " to be followed in investigating a tracing and the main points to be noted, allows the actual electrocardiograms (of which there are sixty-four) to speak for themselves with the help of short explanatory notes. The book concludes with a series of " test" tracings, the key to which is given on the last pages. The electrocardiograms are perfect examples of the various abnormalities which they illustrate. Their technical quality is that which we have learnt to expect from the cardiac department of the London Hospital, i.e. beyond criticism.
The book is well produced, and should do much to dispel the illusion that the interpretation of electrocardiograms is a mystic rite.

Diseases of Infancy and Childhood. Bv Leonard G.
Parsons, M.D., F.R.C.P., and Seymour Barling, C.M.G., ?F-R.C.S. 2 vols. Pp. xxxviii., 1,798. Illustrated. London : Oxford University Press. 1933. Price ?4 4s.?An apology is due to the editors and publishers of this treatise. Our review has been unduly delayed by the indisposition of the reviewer. Nevertheless this delay has not been entirely a disadvantage.
It enables the reviewer to realize that Parsons and Barling has established a singular pre-eminence amongst books on children's diseases. The authors of the various articles have been well chosen and are all abreast of modern work and thought. It is impossible to do justice to the many good Points in the book by quotation. A limited number of appreciative observations must suffice. The idea of opening the book with a chapter on heredity is sound as well as novel, and Dr. Cockayne has managed to compress an intricate subject clearly and intelligibly. The chapters on feeding and nutrition are first-rate, though the use of negro children to illustrate rickets was at first puzzling until we realized that the authors of these sections are working in the great school of Johns Hopkins. Maitland-Jones has contributed several sections, but that on infantile atrophy is outstanding, ?the acute exanthemata are well described, and one point is Reserving of notice, as it is not widely recognized, namely that the administration of scarlatinal anti-toxin prevents or limits desquamation after scarlet fever. Ignorance of this fact sometimes leads to the original diagnosis being questioned, fhe duration of diphtheria immunity after protective peculation is not clearly enough stated. In the bibliography the chapter on tuberculosis Calmette's classic work Uinfection acillaire et la Tuberculose is not included, although in the ext some mention is made of his B.G.G. E. Watson-Williams as written excellently on the diseases of the upper respiratory Passages and of the ear. The colour illustrations of the appearances of the membrana tympani in various diseased conditions are both artistic and instructive. Reginald Miller as contributed the best modern account of rheumatic fever hat we have seen. Lobar pneumonia is well described by rofessor A. E. Naish, but it is verging on pedantry to intitle h? chapter alveolar pneumonia. K. D. Wilkinson is good heart disease and particularly lucid on congenital defects the heart. If we have criticisms to make they are few, ut the discussion of the recognition of the pre-paralytic stage acute anterior polio-myelitis is inadequate and the treatment of the disease is very poor indeed. edition of this standard text-book on pediatrics has been rewritten and enlarged by Dr. Leonard Findlay. Its position as one of the leading text-books on the subject in the English language was established long ago, and Dr. Findlay is to be congratulated on having fully maintained the reputation of his master's book by this revision. It might possibly have been better to have discarded the division of anaemias into primary and secondary, a distinction which nowadays is almost meaningless. The discussion of rheumatic fever is frankly disappointing. Surely in these days the disease is looked upon as a carditis with a tendency to arthritis, or to chorea or the appearance of sub-cutaneous nodules. The relegation of carditis to the third place in the " chief manifestations " seems old-fashioned. The chapter on congenital syphilis is admirably written and illustrated, though amongst the " traces of past syphilitic disease " the characteristic skin scars of the " Great Pox " are not mentioned, save in the form of scarring after phagedenic ulceration, which is uncommon.
Infantile paralysis is not very well described as regards the preparalytic stage. The " tripod sign of Amos " or its modification as described by Dr. Macnamara are not given the prominence they deserve. Too much reliance is placed on the value of convalescent serum and too little importance is attached to the need for calling in an orthopaedic surgeon as soon as the diagnosis of polio-myelitis is made. The chapters on feeding and nutrition are splendid reading, although the retention of Price 5s.?It can be safely said that any publication which has reached, as this one has, its fourteenth edition, has found a public, and so is already assured of success.
This last edition has been revised, and new poisons have been added. The chapter on antimony poisoning from enamel Ware glaze should prove especially interesting in view of the controversy that it has recently raised. As those who have this book will know, the poisons with their symptoms and treatment are set out in alphabetical order, and that together with an elaborate index will make it especially useful in an emergency. No general practitioner should be without this in his desk or on his bookshelf. considerably. The fallacious standard that the proper adult systolic pressure is the age plus one hundred finds no support.
?Dr. Halls Dally gives no normal systolic pressure as being above 150 m.m.'at any age. Halls Dally on high blood pressure becomes, with this third edition, an absolutely indispensable book for every practitioner of medicine, and for none more than those engaged in medical examination for life assurance. This little volume is devoted to propounding the thesis that spasmodic asthma is due to a mycotic infection, a monilia being suggested as the causal organism. Those who have had experience in the field of mycoses will realize that such a thesis needs the closest criticism, and the most unmistakable experimental demonstration. Dr. Oliver's " proofs are so far based only on cultural recognition of the monilia in the sputum asthmatics. skin, and will be welcomed by students and practitioners. Chapters on the structure and functions of the skin and the principles of diagnosis are followed by descriptions of the various diseases, the clinical appearance, aetiology, differential diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of each condition being given. A useful feature is the use of small type for the rarer conditions. There are no coloured plates, but forty-six black and white illustrations are included, all of these being photographs of actual cases. The only criticism which one has to make is that in many cases too little space is devoted to the treatment of the more common conditions, and it is hoped that this fault will be remedied in future editions. have served a useful purpose if it enables the general practitioner to recognize those cases of melancholia in which the danger of suicide is certain. Its perusal may in consequence save the lives of some useful members of society among their patients who have fallen victims to morbid depression. In giving a careful review of various cases of manic-depressive mental disorder and involutional melancholia, the author demonstrates the importance of mild cases of melancholia that are often missed or diagnosed as physical illnesses. The chapter on treatment is good, but the author has not appreciated the need for carefully graduated occupational therapy prescribed by the doctor. The author rightly insists on compulsory restraint for every patient who threatens suicide, who refuses food or is dangerous, but it is much to be regretted that he insists on certification also. As a large proportion are willing to be treated as voluntary patients under the Board of Control, and temporary orders are available for all who have lost volition, only those few who refuse to be treated require certification.  Ltd. 1933. Price 21s.? The moment the reader opens this book he will appreciate the reasons for its popularity, which has been so great that in seven years no fewer than four editions have appeared. It consists essentially of a series of excellent surgical tutorial lectures, admirably illustrated by numerous and well-chosen pictures, the value of careful and systematic clinical examination being the theme. It is difficult to find words adequately to express the admiration that this work elicits, and the practitioner who does not possess it either has nothing to learn about surgery or has no desire to improve his professional equipment. Its plural authorship ensures a balanced opinion on difficult and controversial points, and informs the reader of the current teaching in the various London schools.

Atlas of the
There is a valuable section on the endocrinology of the female, in which are set out the constantly changing opinions of physiologists and biochemists on this subject. The chapters on ovarian tumours contain some notable additions. Short accounts are also given of the use of diathermy, X-rays, and radium in the treatment of gynaecological conditions, and the new edition can be confidently recommended to students and practitioners alike. Price 3s. 6d.?This little book is by no means a dull tabulation of the principal facts of obstetrics. In a brisk style, and without the use of telegraphic English, it presents the chief points of the subject, explains difficulties, and also gives several very useful practical hints. Used in conjunction with the larger text-books it should prove of great value to the student.
Handbook of Filterable Viruses. By R. W. Fairbrother, M.D. Pp. ix., 193. London : William Heinemann Ltd. 1934. Price 7s. 6d.?The author of this handbook, well known in this country for his work on the viruses of poliomyelitis, is to be congratulated on having written a concise, readable account pf the filterable viruses, in which all important work on this intricate subject is discussed and analysed with commendable impartiality. Technical details are omitted, but this omission makes for a clearer exposition of general principles, and there is no work of this size in which the general reader will find the subject so carefully reviewed.  Calmette for many years, one cannot praise his great energy and perseverance enough. He fought to save the lives of children, and the future will give him his right place among the great ones of this world. Calmette was always hurt at the neglect of his work by English doctors. The prevention of tuberculosis seems to be neglected in the country, and what is now needed is an investigation by our Ministry of Health, or some other public body, into the value of B.C.G., and any other means for protecting children against the risks of infection with tuberculosis. The issue of this book by the Oxford Medical Publications may help to stimulate an intelligent interest in B.C.G. amongst medical men in this country, and for that reason it is warmly welcome. publication comes out in a third edition with a good many changes and additions to the text and in the illustrations. It has been brought thoroughly up to date and offers a sound and for the most part an eminently readable account of the best modern practice of paediatrics. It is obviously impossible in a short review to do more than briefly to indicate the outstanding features of a work of 1,200 closely (but clearly) printed pages compiled by thirty-six eminent authors, each of them an acknowledged authority upon the subject treated of by him. But the practitioner and senior student will here find in nearly every case all that he can reasonably desire to know of the aetiology, pathology, symptomatology, and treatment of any medical disease in children which he may encounter. As a matter of fact, the scope of the work is much more ambitious than an attempt to deal merely with medical diseases of children. There are also chapters on orthopaedics, on diseases of bone and joints, and on surgical diseases of other organs, such as the genito-urinary system. Sir H. D. Gillies writes on hare lip and cleft palate?indeed, a wide field of surgery is covered. These chapters on surgical affections and operative procedures are, perhaps, somewhat less satisfactory than the more medical side of the work. It is a task of great difficulty to compress orthopaedic surgery, even in broad outline, into eight pages, and there seems to be, sometimes, a lack of balance in the treatment allotted to other diseases. For instance, cryptorchidism, which every practitioner encounters so frequently, receives but twelve lines, with never a hint of any treatment, whereas congenital valvular obstruction of the urethra, surely one of the rarer abnormalities, receives thirty, with an illustration. But these are only minor criticisms, and for the vast majority of the articles one can have nothing but enthusiastic appreciation. The chapter on rickets is a masterly little monograph, the chapters on the nervous system, on the kidney, and intestinal tract are especially good; in fact, where there is such a high general standard it is rather an invidious task to single particular articles out for praise. As an instance of the way in which the book is brought up to date, it may be mentioned that there are two descriptions of Von Gierke's disease (hepato nephromegalia glycogenica) with reference to Worcester Drought's review of the literature in 1933. The insulin-glucose treatment in severe diphtheria is also described.
There are, of course, as in every work, minor matters where the view-point of the reader will differ from that of the Writer, but no one in search of sound progressive views ?n diseases of children will be likely to go away disappointed after a perusal of these pages. We congratulate editors, contributors, and not least the publishers, upon a worthy achievement.
The Influence of Heredity on Disease. By L. S. Penrose, M.A., M.D. Pp. vii., 78. Illustrated. London : H. K. Lewis & Co. Ltd. 1934. Price 5s.?The author has succeeded in furnishing a concise description of the modern methods employed in the study of human genetics, and in view of the intricate mass of data which have to be dealt with, it is not surprising that special statistical methods have been evolved, with the result that the student who is unfamiliar with mathematical reasoning must find these scientific advances difficult to understand.
An instance of the help we can derive from Mendelian analysis is the appreciation of what result to expect from an attempt to eradicate an hereditable feature by controlling propagation in a condition such as mental deficiency. Prevention of breeding would only result in a partial reduction of the incidence, the reason being that if 1 per cent, of the population exhibit a recessive character 18 per cent, must possess it in heterozygous form, and these latter individuals will perpetuate the condition. The author lays stress upon the importance of the numerical analysis of sibships and of the recognition of the environment as a significant factor. This essay should serve as a useful guide to the eugenist as to the most direct lines along which to conduct his researches. We congratulate the author upon the lucid exposition of so complex a subject.